John Albert Thomas Solo Piano

1 John – What God Did For Us

In my last post I wrote down a list of things the Apostle John had to say about God in his first letter.

In this post I want to catalog the things he wrote about those who believe in that God, particularly about Jesus.

• The believer has fellowship with the Father and the Son, who is Jesus.
• The believer has fellowship with other believers.
• This fellowship provides great joy for the believer.
• The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
• The Father forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
• The believer still sins, but when he does, Jesus the Righteous stands as our Advocate before the Father.
• Our sins weigh us down with a debt only payable by death.
• The Father accepts the death of Jesus as sufficient payment for our sins and the sins of the whole world.  He marks our account as paid in full.
• When we also accept Jesus’ death in our place, He gives us a new life, born of God, which extends on even after death.
• This new life is evidenced by the fact that the believer loves Him and that overflows into love for other believers.
• The believer is gradually transformed into the likeness of Christ, walking in the same way He walked.
• The believer’s sins are completely forgiven for the glory of Christ.
• The believer knows the Father personally.
• The believer has finally overcome Satan.
• The believer has strength that comes from the Spirit who has taken up permanent residence in his heart.
• The believer discovers that this world is temporary, and his love for it decreases.
• Instead, the believer realizes that he is in this world for a reason, and he wants to do everything God has prepared him to do.
• The Spirit of God remains in the believer and keeps him faithful.
• The Spirit of God trains the believer’s mind to think His thoughts, understand His ways, and know the truth about Jesus.
• The Spirit of God teaches the believer everything he needs to know; His teaching is complete and sufficient.
• The believer will not shrink from Christ in shame when He returns; he has no fear of standing before God on the Day of Judgment.
• The Father loves the believer enough to adopt him as His own child.  This adoption has already taken place.
• When Christ returns the believer will complete the transformation into His likeness.
• That hope has a purifying effect on the believer.
• Sin loses it’s appeal to the believer.
• He is no longer a slave to sin.  That was his old nature.
• He can’t help wanting to do what is right.  This desire grows.  It’s in his new nature.
• The believer finds himself with a natural affection for his fellow believers.
• The believer loses his ability to hate.
• His love for fellow believers grows to the point where he’s willing to give up his own rights for the good of his brothers–even his own life–just as Christ did.
• Showing love to other believers–caring for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs–becomes a frequent and natural occurrence.
• Sometimes the believer doubts about his relationship with the Father, perhaps due to sin.  God already knows and is not surprised.  The believer is to trust God’s love instead of his own thoughts concerning himself.
• The believer can be confident that God hears his prayers, and that He will give everything he asks according to His will.
• The Spirit inside the believer helps the believer determine the difference between false teaching and truth.
• The Spirit inside the believer is more powerful than any spiritual opposition he may face, including Satan.
• The Spirit uses the Scriptures to strengthen the believer against such opposition.
• The Father loves the believer to the point that it overflows into love for others.
• He remains in the believer, convincing him that His love is perfect, and giving him the ability to share that love with others.
• The Spirit gives the believer a continued faith in Jesus as the Son of God, Savior of the world.
• The believer finds that obeying the commandment to love God and love his brothers is a natural delight rather than a burdensome chore.
• The believer will be tempted to place his affections on the things of this world so that they consume his thoughts, his time, and his money.
• Instead, he must keep his focus and delight on the person and work of Jesus Christ.

ALL of that because Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  Now we know why it’s called Good News!

Life In HD

The other morning my son was watching a popular kids show in High Definition (HD), and the camera was zoomed in on the hostess. It seemed to me that she had not slept much the night before they taped the show because I could see bags under her eyes. HD certainly lets us see imperfections with greater clarity.

Like HDTV, social networks like Facebook and Twitter allow us to see imperfections and negative trends in others more clearly as well. It seems the more connected we are, the more transparent and honest we are forced to become.

My own small town of Arlington, TN, experienced this first hand over the past couple of weeks as Mayor Russell Wiseman’s conversation with Facebook “friends” hit the national news. I don’t have enough facts to make a fair judgment regarding the situation (nor do I care to), but my point is that there is a big [Remove] button next to our own posts for a good reason. I have clicked that button many times myself.

When we choose to live in HD, we place ourselves under a social microscope where we are held more accountable to the truth. Our imperfections appear more frequently, but our sensitivity and attention to them lessens each time someone else’s jump to the forefront.

Pretty soon, we’ll realize just how imperfect we all are. Sadly, we may start to accept our own imperfection on that basis.

A Call To Obedience

The subject of Christian obedience has greatly eluded the dialogue of Contemporary Christianity.  It is often based on feelings of love for God rather than behaviors of love written about in the Word of God.  As for myself, due to spiritual abuses in my past, I’ve associated obedience with legalism for far too long.  I’m so thankful to be in a church that has helped me come away from that mentality.  I have also begun to read a 19th century book called, “The School of Obedience” by Andrew Murray.  The Holy Spirit has been using this book among other things to convict me of areas of disobedience in my life, and has helped me to understand some practical ways to surrender daily.  I wanted to share these thoughts with you.

The Call to Obey

As I read about the subject of obedience I am discovering that it permeates every pore of Scripture.  You will often read in the Old Testament statements like, “And ____________ did as the Lord commanded him, and the Lord honored/blessed him.”  God often predicated His promises with a call to obedience with statements like, “IF you do as I have commanded you, THEN will I bless you and honor you.”  So the doorway into His honor and blessing is found in a life of obedience.

Our Failure to Obey 

When God calls us to obey, He is not only concerned with His glory; He is concerned about us.

Jesus said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”  (Luke 6:46-49, NIV)

What kind of house am I building?

The First Step of Obedience

The first step of obedience is found in Romans where Paul talks about the “obedience of faith”.  (Romans 1:5, 16:26, NAS)   

The Scriptures do not speak of “inviting” someone to Christ.  Rather, it commands that every human “repent and believe”.  And on that account, all men stand guilty. 

Paul said, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30, NIV) 

Later he said, “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” (Acts 26:20, NIV)

So obedience starts when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The next steps are futile and meaningless without this first step.

The Object and Motive of Obedience

What differentiates true obedience from legalism is the object and motive of our obedience.  Legalism elevates man as the master to be obeyed.  The Lord Jesus Christ is and should remain our true Master.  It is love for Him that drives us to obey.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  (John 14:15, NIV)

Paul wrote, “The love of Christ constrains/compels/controls us.”  (2 Corinthians 5:14, NIV)

What kind of love is this?  It is a love characterized by a longing to please the Father in every way.  It knows there is only one thing that pleases Him above all else–our loving obedience.

Our Example of Obedience

There is no greater example of this than the loving obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” (John 14:31, NIV)

Jesus’s primary goal was to give us eternal, abundant life; but his primary motive was to please His Father.  This should be our primary motive as well.

The Power to Obey

To help us in doing the same, Jesus Christ sent us the Holy Spirit to inhabit our hearts, convict us of sin, and convince us of our new identity in Him.

Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”  (John 16:8, NLT)

Paul wrote, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”  (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)

The Next Steps

1. If it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict us when we disobey, we must ask Him, “Holy Spirit, show me areas in my life where I am not being obedient to the Father.”  He will show us because this is His greatest desire for us. 
2. Take a sheet of paper and create two columns.  Above the first column write, “Areas of Disobedience”.  In the first column write down everything the Holy Spirit brings to mind.  Meditate on the following verses: 
   • “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (James 4:17, NLT) What am I neglecting or refusing to do because I lack self-discipline.
   • “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”  (Colossians 3:17, NAS)  What am I saying and doing that does NOT bring honor to the name of Jesus, whom I claim to serve?
3. Confess your disobedience to your Heavenly Father, asking Him for forgiveness.  Receive His forgiveness by faith.  His Son was crucified and buried, but He rose from the dead and now sits at the Father’s right hand interceding for you.  “This is mine.  I died for him/her.”  Recognize your new identity in Christ.  Your old self has passed away, and your new self is here.  Bask in His mercy and His grace towards you.  You are His adopted child.  Sit in your Father’s lap and let him hold you and tell you how much He delights in you.  Stay there for as long as you need.  He has all the time in the world for YOU.
4. On your sheet of paper, above the second column, write “What Obedience Looks Like”.  
   • Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom to know where to start.  You’re going to need His power to do this.  You want to follow His plan, not your own.  
   • Choose ONE item from the left column that you know the Holy Spirit wants you to tackle first.  For me, it was setting a bedtime for myself.  The sin of not giving my body, the “temple of the Holy Spirit”, proper rest has been hanging over my head for years, and since many of my areas of disobedience hinged on that one thing, I believed that is the place to start.
   • Spend the next week focusing on that ONE area of obedience.  Be much in prayer, dependent on His strength, and giving yourself wholeheartedly to the change.  If you fall off the wagon, repent, believe in His forgiveness and get back on right away.  Each day is a new day.  Every morning give yourself to complete surrender to your Master’s desire for you.
   • After you have surrendered to Him in that one area of your life, you will likely find that other items on the left column have also been surrendered.  Write down what obedience looks like in those areas.  Add to the left column anything else the Holy Spirit brings to mind as you study His Word and pray.  Repeat this whole process with each area of disobedience.  If you fall back into a pattern of disobedience in one area, repeat steps 3 and 4.  
   • Don’t worry if your list keeps growing.  It will.  This is called sanctification, and it will happen till the day you die.  Only then will you be perfect as He is perfect.  Only then will your list be complete.  But each day you do this, you will become more like Christ.  More of Him, and less of you.
5. Thank God for the honor and the blessing that comes with each victory.  Share your victories with the world.  Your motive is not to get honor and blessing; it is to please your Heavenly Father and glorify Him to the world.  Your Father has promised to reward your obedience with honor and blessing as you give yourself to the sweet surrender of obedience daily, one victory at a time.  There is no room for boasting.  He did it.  He made the change.  You simply surrendered, and followed His directions in faith.

I have a lot more to learn about this subject, and I hope to come back and go into more detail on each section.